Will Wikitree be reviewing its special relationship with GEDmatch?

Question

Wikitree has long encouraged its members to join Gedmatch. But with the takeover by Verogen, is that advice still valid? I have deleted my account on Gedmatch because the values of Verogen don't align with mine. But I could be persuaded back if a trusted partner like Wikitree actively reviews and actively manages the relationship moving forward. It is a real shame to lose access to the wonderful tools on Gedmatch, but I think we all need to 'wait and see' how the new owners operate.

Comments

Thanks for the info J Cherry.  I had not logged into GEDmatch for over a month or so and I got the new terms of service when I went to the website.  I have gained nothing from having my kit uploaded there.  Honestly, I have gotten little value from my autosomal or my mtDNA tests.  Very few people have a family tree or respond to emails on GEDmatch or FTDNA.  It has not been very helpful to my genealogy research at all.  I am thinking that I am going to delete my data from GEDmatch.

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Caryl, although it is a long and in places contentious discussion, there is information in this thread on the value of testing with different companies.  I think you might have better luck with Ancestry.

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/952166/looking-for-dna-advice-3-generations

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Just deleted my GedMatch account for all the "that's bad" reasons listed here.

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Kitty Cooper discusses Gedmatch in her latest blog.  Good reading:  http://blog.kittycooper.com/  See my reply below as well with regard to the recent email from the founder of Gedmatch.

I've been a genetic genealogist for years (I first had my dad's mtDNA tested in May 2003 to help prove a matrilineal line).  Gedmatch is invaluable for locating triangulated groups amongst people that tested with any of the major testing sites.  Ancestry doesn't let you see the shared chromosome segments, so it's of no value in truly confirming more distant ancestors (beyond 2nd cousins).  And when you have someone that tested on 23andMe, but you tested on FTDNA, the only way to know if you are truly matching is to both upload to Gedmatch.  So I will continue to use it.  It has helped me break down brick walls for both myself and others.

Answer 1

I have read through this thread and have quickly skimmed the new Terms of Service shown in Susan's link.  It quite honestly comes across to me as being not much different under new ownership, and I am missing where all the bad vibes and new values and sinister reasons are that are causing so many people to bail out.  I wonder if someone would be willing to take a cut at a brief summary of all the reasons why this change is bad for us?  Thanks

Comments

Dennis, I'm with you on not understanding why the furor over privacy.  I'm probably not well qualified to answer your question because I know next to nothing about all DNA related things, but I have carefully read the G2G posts related to the ownership change of gedmatch and the privacy issues that concern WikiTree members.  The bottom line on my takeaway from all that is that the company that now owns gedmatch is a business that develops tools for forensic DNA analysis.  To me, all that means is that their business is selling their software products to law enforcement entities.  Personally, I can see no reason why their owning gedmatch would be a threat to any privacy that I might have had before.  I also read the blog by Roberta Estes about it and she seems to be trying to quiet all the alarmists.

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Forensic genetics is not identical with law enforcement. That may be all Verogen does — I don’t know. But it is also used, for instance, in identifying remains of unknown soldiers.

Answer 2

Consider the blog post https://dna-explained.com/2019/12/10/gedmatch-acquired-by-verogen/

Answer 3

This is a good question. Personally, I was using Gedmatch when I was blocked out for a few hours for "maintenance". When I was able to log in again, the new owners had their, OPT-IN for OPT-OUT barrier up.

I immediately deleted my files and profiles ( at least I hope they are not lying about deleting them. My issue is the way that this was handled. It appears that MY DNA was sold, when it should have been my proprietary ownership. I am not against helping police - I was one who opted in to help law enforcement. But this was different and ominous in my opinion. I won't be going back  to Gedmatch.

It is sad because I really liked the tie-in with Wiki-Tree.

I have decided to upload my DNA to MyHeritage. They also  have a super deal this week for anyone transferring DNA to their site. The deal is that there is no charges for loading DNA and they say that all the advanced DNA tools will be available forever. These include a Chromosome Browser and a Cluster Tool almost identical to the one that was recently added to Gedmatch. I think the tool was developed by the same company.

I also decide to test with MyHeritage, I got the test for $49 and no postage yesterday.

Their databases are growing and approaching the the big 3. I talked last evening with a couple of professional genealogists that like their DNA tools.

MyHeritage is certainly making moves to attract the people leaving GEDMATCH.

I have no idea if MyHeritage would work with WikiTree. They are connected to Geni now.

Comments

Their databases are growing and approaching the the big 3.

Just a small note: MyHeritage has ranked as the 3rd largest database for some time now. They just announced they'd hit 3.5 million kits with their announcement of free features for uploads (Dec 11 to 18). So they've been the 3rd largest (after AncestryDNA and 23andMe) since sometime in mid-2017.

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Gedmatch has always been the 'central clearing house' for comparing autosomal DNA tests, as people that tested with any of the major DNA sites could upload there and compare results.  Is MyHeritage good?  Yes, but it's just another company like FTDNA, ancestry, and 23andMe in that you can only compare with others that have uploaded or tested there.  That is the charm of Gedmatch.  I can compare DNA from an ancestry kit with someone's 23andMe kit.  And it was free for both of us to upload there.  It doesn't matter how large someone's database is if you can't compare your test with theirs.  I personally upload and/or test with all of the sites, but everyone doesn't have the money to do that.  If you are a genetic genealogist and intent on locating triangulated groups to help identify common ancestors, then Gedmatch is extremely helpful -- whereas ancestry is useless for that due to the lack of a chromosome browser.

Answer 4

I haven't decided what to do with Gedmatch yet.  That said however, I found myself using it less and less for 2 reasons.

1) few people had family trees attached to their profiles.

2) even fewer people would bother to respond to any sort of queries.

Comments

Craig, I have found the best use of GEDmatch is when I can locate matches from Ancestry who have also uploaded there.  It gives me the chromosome detail I need to determine the source(s) of the shared DNA.  GEDmatch also has useful tools, such as locating shared matches for you and another person, and additional features in their Tier One options, which seem quite reasonably priced at $10 per month.

And a further reason is that when you find potential matches on WikiTree, you can sometimes check GEDmatch to see whether you actually share DNA.

Answer 5

The founder of Gedmatch sent out an email, which I think is important to share with people that are considering Gedmatch.  I think a bunch of people made up their own ideas about the takeover and started a scare tactic.  I am looking forward to what Gedmatch will develop with the influx of new money.  Here's the email:

To GEDmatch users,

As you may know, on December 9 we shared the news that GEDmatch has been purchased by Verogen, Inc., a forensic genomics company whose focus is human ID. This sale took place only because I know it is a big step forward for GEDmatch, its users, and the genetic genealogical community. Since the announcement, there has been speculation about a number of things, much of it unfounded.

There has been concern that law enforcement will have greater access to GEDmatch user information. The opposite is true. Verogen has firmly and repeatedly stated that it will fight all unauthorized law enforcement use and any warrants that may be issued. This is a stronger position than GEDmatch was previously able to implement.

There has been concern that Verogen will eliminate GEDmatch free tools and raise Tier 1 rates. In fact, Verogen has made it clear that the free tools will remain, and there are no immediate plans to raise Tier 1 rates.

It has been reported on social media that there is a mass exodus of kits from the GEDmatch database. There has been a temporary drop in the database size only because privacy policies in place in the various countries where our users reside require citizens to specifically approve the transfer of their data to Verogen. As users grant permission, that data will again be visible on the site. We are proactively reaching out to these users to encourage them to consent to the transfer.

The sale to Verogen will be a tremendous benefit to genealogists. Verogen has pledged to continue the GEDmatch philosophy of providing free services. It recognizes that all information belongs to the users who have placed it on GEDmatch, that this information may be removed by the users at any time, and that strong privacy protections need to be in place. It is to Verogen's advantage to build the consumer database, meaning more and better matches for users. Verogen recognizes that law enforcement use of genetic genealogy is here to stay and is in a better position to prevent abuses and protect privacy than GEDmatch ever could have done on its own.

Bottom line: I am thrilled that the ideal company has purchased GEDmatch. The baby I created will now mature for the benefit of all involved. If anyone has any doubts, I may be reached at gedmatch@gmail.com. I will do my best to personally respond to all concerns.

Curtis Rogers
GEDmatch

Comments

I just received this in my email this morning as I am sure everyone did. Thank you for posting, Darlene. I was already in the "wait and see" group and this helps that decision.

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Virginia, I know there are people here on Wikitree that haven't used Gedmatch.  They are reading these posts and may be using them to help them make a decision.  As such, I felt it important to share the correspondence from the founder of Gedmatch.